Free Download A Folk Tale of Unohana-hime — Volume I (of II)

“That well-known line, so often passed down… can it truly be dismissed with so graceful a phrase as ‘a tragic romance’?”

Across Japan, such tales abound—familiar stories of love and sorrow. Yet beneath their polished surface lies something far less comforting: a record of one’s own folly, and of a fatal mistake from which there can be no return.

A regret that lingers, never quite fading, no matter how much time may pass.
This work sets aside the sweetness of romantic tales, and instead traces the harrowing inner descent of a single soul—tormented by her own failings, until, at last, she casts herself away and crosses the threshold into something no longer wholly human.

Here, the story stripped of its finery—the truth, stained with mud rather than adorned in beauty.
And perhaps, within it, you may find an echo of that one irretrievable moment that lingers still within your own heart.

★ A two-part work, based on the Unohana-hime tradition passed down in Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture.
This volume is the first part, featuring quieter episodes that take the time to explore the characters in depth.
The second volume presents the story’s climax and contains somewhat heavier, more emotionally intense material.Release forthcoming.

Page count
Main story: 24 pages
Supplementary section (“Notes”): 8 pages
(including commentary on horse tack, historical background, and more)